Everwood American Amber Ale

[Halicat]

Ahh okay, that's fair. I'll let you know what I think of it in about a month. It was my first extract brew, so I certainly didn't nail it, but I'm looking forward to drinking it. My next brew will go more smoothly.

[Buccaneer]

Ahh okay, that's fair. I'll let you know what I think of it in about a month. It was my first extract brew, so I certainly didn't nail it, but I'm looking forward to drinking it. My next brew will go more smoothly.

Yeah, that's my thinking as well. It turned out, so I'm not unhappy, but I want to do better.

[Keith]

I entered the closest to what I thought the recipe was into BrewToad and it indicated this amber ale would come out sweet/balanced, so I'm not surprised it came out sweet. It's a shame it was sweeter than you expected though. Your yeast behaved properly as far as you know given rehydration and controlled fermentation temps?

I'm not complaining about the sweetness at all, but I was expecting more hop character. When I talked to Dave about it, he indicated that the OG should be 1.050 (which I hit exactly) and the FG should be around 1.012. I managed to hit 1.015.

I'm pretty sure I did the yeast right. Put the packet into a glass of sterile water and let it develop for about half an hour, with some occasional stirring. Fermentation temps were right around 21C (between 20 and 22, given the sensitivity of my temp controller).

I may have managed to get almost everything right, but without another batch to compare against, I have no frame of reference. I've got a couple other recipes to try and then maybe I'll give this one another go. I think I'd want more bittering hops, though.

A bunch of this comes down to the boil size, where Hali brewed a thinner wort it may not be as sweet and the hops may have been put to better use. That being said I've brewed about 20 extract batches and altho your comfort level increases, you are constantly learning and improving. Don't be scared of it. Just embrace it and ensure everything is sterile (that way you have beer).

[Keith]

Scott and Mike,
If either of you have any questions regarding extract\partial grain brewing, just let me know. I've only brewed this method for 8 months, but feel confident in the process to help where needed. I've received a lot from this community and always am looking for a means to give back.

[Halicat]

Thanks Keith, I seriously appreciate it! I'm 100% certain I'll have more questions when I brew my next batch or earlier. I'm eyeing that Belgian Wit from Everwood; sounds like a delicious summer brew! Thanks again!

[Buccaneer]

A bunch of this comes down to the boil size, where Hali brewed a thinner wort it may not be as sweet and the hops may have been put to better use. That being said I've brewed about 20 extract batches and altho your comfort level increases, you are constantly learning and improving. Don't be scared of it. Just embrace it and ensure everything is sterile (that way you have beer).

Interesting. I've done a second batch since (IPA), again with 4 gallons. I'll see if I see any of the same characteristics. And maybe I'll bump up to 5 gallons for the next one.

[Keith]

if you can find out your water loss with the boil, you can start the batch slightly higher then boil down to your desired mark. That way you get the best hop utilization, especially on the hoppier IPA's.

[Halicat]

Yeah, I calculated I lost about 2 gallons over the span of an hour and a bit. This seems absolutely insane, but residue evaporated onto the side of the kettle leaving concrete proof of the big boiloff! Maybe I'll turn the stove down just a bit next time, but it's not like I had an insane rolling boil or anything. Seems odd, but apparently it's not unheard of for kettles with a diameter of 14" (35.3 cm).

[Buccaneer]

My water loss is fairly low - I keep the lid on the kettle, but slightly ajar to let some of the steam escape.

[Halicat]

And keeping the lid half on seems to have no effect for you regarding DMS? There are no corn or cooked vegetable flavours in your beers brewed in this manner?

[Celiacbrew]

Your extract has had its DMS precursors reduced so you don't need a long boil to remove them. Same thing with specialty malts, the high heat in the kiln drives off the precursors. So following that logic you don't need to boil a long time with steeping recipes. I'm new to brewing too so I haven't tested this out, its just what I picked up from John Palmer's How to Brew website.

Oh and BYO has a nice explanation of what happens with your extract before it reaches you. Kind of long but interesting if you like that kind of stuff.

http://byo.com/stories/item/1101-making-malt-extract" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Buccaneer]

And keeping the lid half on seems to have no effect for you regarding DMS? There are no corn or cooked vegetable flavours in your beers brewed in this manner?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that having it open a tad helps prevent that. I don't notice any off flavors. We'll see what happens with the batch I've got in the fermenter right now, which I did almost exactly the same way.

[elreplica]

Cooked it according to Dave's instructions, kept it in primary for a little longer than usual (as my wife hid it from sight) and thought it had "soured" after 12 days. OG hit 1047 and panicked and forgot to read (or record) the FG, but something tells me it was around 1010. I racked the brew after a week and cold crashed it before kegging it. I find the beer nice and relatively clear, hoppy and definitely drinkable. I would do this one again.

[jtmwhyte]

a) unless you have an infection of some type in the beer simply having it on the yeast for 12 days will not sour it. I routinely leave mine for 21-30 days with no ill effects.
b) You'd know if it didn't hit a low enough gravity by the taste (lots of residual sweetness).
c) It will clear more as it sits in the cold. If you're impatient try using gelatin to fine your keg.